Tutors Complement New Protein For Parkinson’s Patients

As reported December 23, 2011 via the Ivanhoe Newswire – A new strategy to treat Parkinson’s disease patients may help calm their tremors and help people live a normal life.
The key is to stabilize the cell’s power-generating center– the
. Mitochondria are damaged in Parkinson’s Disease (PD), leading to loss of dopaminergic neurons and degeneration of brain function. Taking advantage of the fact that viruses often stabilize mitochondria in order to ensure survival of the cells they infect, a team led by John Sinclair and Roger Barker at the University of Cambridge injected a viral protein called beta2.7, known to protect mitochondria, into rats with a PD-like disease.
Rats injected with this beta2.7 before or after the formation of PD-like brain lesions performed better on tests of behavior and motor function. Their brains also contained more dopaminergic neurons. However further work is needed to determine if the same approach will also benefit human PD patients.
When further developed beta2.7 can augment the functional gain of physiotherapy. Specifically the use of the TUTORS.
The TUTORS (HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR) have been in the forefront of rehabilitation treatment for Parkinson’s disease patients.
The newly developed HANDTUTOR and its sister devices (ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR, 3DTUTOR) have become a key system in neuromuscular rehabilitation and physical and occupational therapy. These innovative devices implement an impairment based exercise program with augmented feedback and encourage motor learning through intensive active exercises. Manual therapy is the provision of exercise practice by an occupational and physical therapist. As the HANDTUTOR, ARMTUTOR, LEGTUTOR and 3DTUTOR allow the PT and OT to customize the exercises, the patient is given motivating tasks through computer games with biofeedback that give them the correct dose of manual therapy. This means that the Parkinson’s, stroke, CP or TBI patient is given exercises that are challenging and motivating and allow for repetitive training tailored to the patient’s performance. Even patients with severe movement dysfunction can benefit from intensive exercise practice as the TUTOR system picks up even small angles of joint movement.
The TUTOR system also allows the OT and PT to make objective reports and evaluations on the patient’s movement ability so his progress can be maintained and shown to both himself and his family. This is also a strong motivation to carry on training and improve movement and functional everyday living ability. The HANDTUTOR and ARMTUTOR are a major part of the rehabilitation program of leading U.S. and foreign hospitals. The TUTORS are also used in clinics and at home care supported by telerehabilitation. See WWW.HANDTUTOR.COM for more information.